Monday, December 5, 2011

Levels 1, 2, 3,& 4: Lynn Schools & their Accountability Designations

As previously posted, the Lawrence Public System was labeled a 'Level 5,' or chronically under-performing district. It may be quite apparent that Level 5 is a terrible distinction, but many may not know what this means in an official capacity. The Massachusetts School and District Accountability System, which ranks both schools and districts, was designed in order to gauge progress toward the ultimate goal of having all students in the state achieve proficiency in both English language arts (ELA) and math by 2014 as mandated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Depending on how well their students perform on the MCAS exam each spring, schools and districts are graded either a Level 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. As a district, Lynn is considered 'Level 4' because the most serious designation of any school in the district is Level 4. However, proficiency rates in ELA and math at individual schools in Lynn vary such that the districts currently has schools designated at each of the Levels 1 - 4. See below for a further explanation of each ranking as well as the schools in Lynn that fall under that category.

Level 1 occurs when

a school has no NCLB Accountability Status at all

OR

is identified for Improvement Year 1 or Improvement Year 2 under NCLB (Aggregate or Subgroups)

Schools that have been deemed a 'Level 1' are as follows:

Elementary

Aborn***

Shoemaker*

Sisson*

Tracy**

Washington

High School

Lynn English

Other

Fecteau Leary Jr/Sr High

*No Status - ELA
**No Status - Math
***No Status - All Subjects

Level 2 occurs when:

a school is identified for corrective action or restructuring under NCLB (Aggregate or Subgroups)

Planning requirements include revising the school improvement plan to reflect the implementation of one or more corrective actions or restructuring steps based on NCLB Accountability Status.

Level 2 schools in Lynn are:

Elementary

Brickett**

Callahan

Ingalls

Lincoln-Thomson**

Lynn Woods

Sewell Anderson

Middle

Pickering

High School

Lynn Classical

**No Status - Math

Level 3 occurs when:

a school is among the lowest achieving and least improving 20% of schools statewide serving common grades, regardless of NCLB Accountability Status.

Lynn currently has seven Level 3 schools:

Elementary

Cobbet

Drewicz

Ford

Hood

Middle

Breed

Marshall

High School

Lynn Tech

Level 4occurs when:

a school is among the lowest achieving and least improving Level 3 schools statewide serving common grades regardless of NCLB Accountability Status.

Level 4 schools must implement a redesign plan that fulfills the requirements of the state Turnaround Plan that address the implementation of the Conditions for School Effectiveness. Some of the conditions include effective leadership, tiered instruction and adequate learning time, family-school engagement, and aligned curriculum.

Two elementary schools in Lynn have been labeled 'Level 4:'

Elementary

Connery

Harrington

Level 5:

a school is declared by the Board as requiring "Joint District-ESE Governance"

*For specific information regarding the 2011 MCAS scores for the Lynn Public schools, see